Two thirds of news executives surveyed for a recent WAN-Ifra report were “surprisingly” optimistic about their future, with a ‘third pillar’ of alternative revenue sources growing strongly.
Co-author of the latest World Press Trends Outlook, Dr François Nel says the confidence comes from executives active in the search for new opportunities, “benchmarking, learning, and testing new assumptions, rather than just looking down at legacy dashboards”.
Nel, who is reader in media innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Lancashire, says the optimism isn’t denial of decline, but confidence born of adaptation.
“Their confidence doesn’t come from traditional metrics suddenly improving. It comes from no longer relying on them alone. Many organisations have become leaner, more diversified, and more honest about what success looks like in today’s market. Growth expectations are modest, but control and strategic clarity are higher,” he said.
For some specialist and mission-driven organisations, ‘other’ revenue can rival – and sometimes exceed – reader revenue.
He told WAN-Ifra research editor Teemu Henriksson that the situation can vary according to market, with the future for publishers in developing markets even more optimistic, with projected revenue growth more than triple that of that for developed markets (24.8 per cent vs. 7.8 per cent), with digital publishers in many developing markets still reaching audiences that were never fully served by legacy news. “In countries such as India, Nigeria, and Kenya, news consumption has been largely mobile-first, often via social platforms, messaging apps, and video. Many publishers also avoided the heavy fixed costs of print, giving them more flexibility.
Not that larger audiences automatically translate into revenue, with global platforms still capturing most digital advertising. “That’s why the optimism we see isn’t about guaranteed returns – it’s about headroom and choice. These publishers still have room to experiment with advertising, partnerships, events, services, and emerging reader-revenue models as markets formalise.”
In developed markets such as the UK and the United States, the challenge is different, Nel says. Audiences are already saturated, subscription fatigue is real, competition for attention is intense, and operating costs are higher. Growth there is about defending and optimising mature models, not expanding into new demand.
“The divergence, then, is not about who is doing better journalism – it’s about where there is still space to build sustainable business models, rather than simply extract more value from crowded, mature markets.”
The survey also shows that digital revenue growth may have have stalled at roughly 31 per cent over the last few years, which Nel says is not a ‘ceiling’ but a pause as first-generation digital models mature. “But it is also a reminder that digital subscriptions have limits,” he said.
The next phase of growth will come from bundling, pricing innovation, differentiated value, and deeper engagement, not simply adding more subscribers, he says. “Digital revenue can still grow – but it won’t grow on autopilot.”
Asked about the growth of ‘other’ revenue – Nel says the question of ‘where else is the money’ is one the industry has been circling for more than a decade” – recognition that publishers have valuable assets beyond content alone: trust, expertise, data, relationships, and convening power.
“As advertising became harder to scale and subscriptions reached natural limits, organisations began monetising those assets through events, training, research, partnerships, philanthropy and specialist services. In that sense, this shift is less about novelty and more about strategic maturity.”
How high this third pillar can go will depend on the publisher. “For specialist, B2B, or mission-driven organisations, “other” revenue can rival – and sometimes exceed – reader revenue; for general-interest newsrooms, it is more likely to function as a stabiliser rather than a replacement.
“These activities demand different skills and governance, and they only work when they align with editorial purpose and audience trust.”
But he says that while the opportunity isn’t infinite, “it’s real.
“As a third pillar, it can reduce risk, smooth volatility, and give publishers more strategic breathing room – exactly what many are now using it for.”
Read more about the report’s key findings here. WAN-Ifra members can access the full report here.